About me:

I am the Beer Specialist for Regional Wines and Spirits one of the most comprehensive and unique liquor retailers in New Zealand.My background is as a cheese monger and I have an all round passion for fermented foods. I have a particular passion for English beer styles and I run a 60 litre real ale home brewery.

Songs from a former life

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Last week I wrote about my trip to the Taranaki as a guest of mikes
brewery. While I was there I managed to pop in on the Naki’s other craft
brewer Liberty Brewing Co. Liberty Brewing began as a Wellington based
home brew supply company owned and operated by Yeastie Boy Stu McKinlay
and Revolution Brewing Co founder Brendon Mackenzie. They sold the
company to New Plymouth based Joseph and Christina Wood who built it up
until they were able to enter the brewing industry.

The Liberty Brewery is located in the garage of the family home in a
suburban street in New Plymouth. Joseph’s 300L brewery is shoe horned
into the family garage which conveniently had a vehicle inspection pit
that was converted into a drain. When we visited, Joseph was away
brewing a collaboration brew at Galbraith’s Ale House in Auckland so we
were shown around by Cristina ably assisted by toddlers Jackson and
Poppy. This was a brewery tour that perfectly summed up the cottage
industry nature of the business.

Liberty has carved out a name for itself brewing strong flavourful beers
that are either sold on tap or in large 750ml bottles with zorg
stoppers. While there we tasted the dazzlingly hoppy double IPA C!TRA
that masterfully matches a huge hop driven aroma of citrus, and tropical
fruit with a palate that offers buckets of hop flavour without much
obvious bitterness.

We also tasted a trial batch of a sour red ale that is perhaps one of
the most exciting Kiwi beers I have had in a long time, sour, tangy and
bursting with refreshing salty passionfruit acidity. I hope Joseph finds
a way to produce it commercially.

Another Liberty beer that has me excited is the wonderfully named High
Carb Ale. Combining rich raisiny malt, zesty tangy hop flavours and a
long rich finish, High Carb Ale is the sort of beer that makes our early
plunge into wintry weather worth it.

At 300L the Liberty brewery is only just bigger than a home brewery and
has already grown since launching last year. I suspect the real
challenge will be when Joseph has to make the decision to either grow
and give up his day job or cap production, something that will be hard
to do at a time when demand for his beers is constantly growing. I hope
he find a way to grow.